Anna Bligh, the Queensland Premier seems to finally be living up to the potential she showed when she first became Premier. Her leadership during this flood crisis matches much of what I have heard from those who have worked for and with her during her time as Premier – that she is calm, intelligent, respectful, decent, personable, sensible and brave – but the reality of her style never previously translated to her broader public image. Some of the criticism of Bligh applies across the board to politicians generally, who these days seem to be over-prepared for public appearances to the point of coming across as robotic and false.

You might have heard, Brisbane and huge parts of Queensland have gone under water in a catastrophic flood. To put that in perspective, this is an area of land the size of France and Germany combined affected by the floods. Brisbane, which is the capital of Queensland is the fastest growing city in Australia and rates third for size in the country. As you might imagine, some absolutely tragic events have been unfolding in this flood.

I had to leave work in a bit of a hurry as I work right in the CBD, which was a surreal feeling; but apart from that my own family has been safe from the flooding, although we have no power for the foreseeable future and have had to be adopted into someone else’s home.